HoopsHype breaks down nine players who are quietly playing big roles almost a quarter of the way into the year.

Domantas Sabonis, Indiana Pacers

The way he's playing, it's almost like Indiana Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis came into the season with the goal to not miss. And so far, he's succeeding.

Sabonis, despite coming off the bench every game so far this year, is playing by far the best basketball of his career. The Gonzaga product is averaging 14.2 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest in just 24.5 minutes nightly, shooting 69.6 percent from the floor. Sabonis has only attempted five three-pointers on the season, but guess what? He's nailed four of those, too.

Among players seeing more than 20 minutes of action nightly, Sabonis' field-goal percentage ranks first overall, just ahead of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Additionally, Sabonis is producing 1.25 points per post-up possession, the second-best rate among men with at least 30 such opportunities.

Montrezl Harrell, Los Angeles Clippers

Speaking of big men dominating off the bench, Clippers backup center Montrezl Harrell is, like Sabonis, killing it in his reserve role.

Harrell is putting up 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per contest, while successfully converting 66.9 percent of his field-goal attempts on the year. Only three other players can match the former Louisville Cardinal's total points (264), assists (26) and blocks (30) in 2018-19, and they're all star-level talent --Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid and Anthony Davis.

That's decent company for the Clippers big man, proving how wildly productive he's been this year.

De'Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings

The Kentucky product is averaging 18.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists, shooting 48.7 percent from the floor and, even more impressively, 39.7 percent from three. Formerly considered a weakness, the fact that Fox can pull up into three-point attempts and confidently knock them down at an efficient rate has helped him turn the corner.

We'll see if it's sustainable, but at the moment, Fox is one of just four players putting up an 18/4/7 stat line on the year, sharing the distinction with Westbrook, Harden and Jrue Holiday.

Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings

Kings wing Buddy Hield is also having a quietly fantastic year.

The former Oklahoma Sooners star is putting up 18.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, providing excellent spacing for this upstart Sacramento squad. Among players with at least 90 three-point attempts this year, Hield's 44.1-percent accuracy from deep ranks third league-wide, trailing just some guy named Curry, as well as Brooklyn Nets 2-guard Joe Harris.

Jusuf Nurkic, Portland Trail Blazers

After a relatively up-and-down year in 2017-18, Jusuf Nurkic has bounced back.

The Bosnian big man is averaging 15.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game, marks that can only be matched by six other players, most of whom are big-name stars. Nurkic has an absurd +11.9 swing rating, proving that his production this season has been anything but empty.

The Trail Blazers re-signed Nurkic to a four-year, $48 million deal this past offseason, and by the look of it so far, it would appear Portland has locked up its center of the future at an extremely team-friendly price.

Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

Vucevic’s numbers – 20.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 three-pointers nightly – have been monstrous. And his +11.6 swing rating is one of the best marks in the league, exemplifying his importance to the Magic this season.

The NBA of today may not be kind to traditional, semi-slow-footed big men like Vucevic, but his game has become so well-rounded that it doesn’t matter. Not only does he space the floor well (Vucevic is shooting 42.2 percent from three through 18 contests), he also dominates smaller lineups thanks to his rebounding prowess.

D'Angelo Russell, Brooklyn Nets

Early last year, it looked like Russell had turned the corner. Then he hurt his knee and was never able to recover that form.

But after 19 games, Russell is averaging 17.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.5 three-pointers per outing, knocking down an impressive 38.4 percent of his looks from deep. Russell is also putting up career-best marks across the board in various advanced metrics, including Box Plus/Minus, Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares/48.

Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors

The long-striding big man was an important piece of what was the best bench in the league in 2017-18. And thus far this year, after a promotion to the starting five, he’s been even better.

The third-year forward is putting up 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while sinking 61.9 percent of his field-goal attempts – an astounding mark for a player who predominantly spends most of his time on the wing.

Siakam has a unique game, with a tight ball-handle, quick spin moves and newly developed pull-up shooting touch to go with his freakish length and athleticism. And it’s thanks to all of those distinctive traits that Siakam is able to do a bit of everything on the floor.

E'Twaun Moore, New Orleans Pelicans

It’s not exactly typical that a role player in his eighth year posts a career campaign, but that’s what Moore is doing.

The veteran 2-guard is putting up career-highs across the board, including points (16.9), three-pointers (1.8) and three-point percentage (48.5). Among players with at least 60 three-point attempts this year, Moore ranks fourth in accuracy. And when shooting off-screens, Moore’s 1.37 PPP is the second-best mark in the NBA among qualified players.

With stars like Davis and Holiday taking most of the attention from opposing defenses, Moore has done an outstanding job in complementing the team’s best players by knocking down shots at an elite rate off the ball.

</div> <h3 class=&quot;presto-h3&quot;> <span style=&quot;color:#ff0000;&quot;>NIKOLA VUCEVIC</span>, ORLANDO MAGIC</h3> <p>Nurkic isn&#39;t the only European center putting up a subtly great season thus far in 2018-19, though. The Orlando Magic&#39;s <strong>Nikola Vucevic</strong> also deserves to be talked about.</p> <p>Vucevic&#39;s numbers this year - 20.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 three-pointers nightly - have been straight-up monstrous. And his <a rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vucevni01/on-off/2019&quot;>+11.6 swing rating</a> is one of the best marks in the league, exemplifying his importance to the surprisingly 9-9 Magic this season.</p> <p>The NBA of today may not be kind to traditional, semi-slow-footed big men like Vucevic, but his game has become so well-rounded that it doesn&#39;t matter. Not only does he space the floor well (Vucevic is shooting 42.2 percent from three through 18 contests), he also dominates smaller lineups thanks to his rebounding prowess. Vucevic&#39;s 1.59 PPP on put-backs is the best mark league-wide among guys with at least 20 such opportunities.</p> <p>Needless to say, if Vucevic keeps this up, he could be looking at his first All-Star bid this season - he&#39;s been that good.</p> <h3 class=&quot;presto-h3&quot;> <span style=&quot;color:#ff0000;&quot;>D&#39;ANGELO RUSSELL</span>, BROOKLYN NETS</h3> <p>Early last year, it looked like Brooklyn Nets guard <strong>D&#39;Angelo Russell</strong> had turned the corner. Then he hurt his knee and was never able to recover that form.</p> <p>Now, it would appear that awesome version of Russell is back.</p> <p>After 19 games, Russell is averaging 17.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.5 three-pointers per outing, knocking down an impressive 38.4 percent of his looks from deep, many of which came of the pull-up or step-back variety. Russell is also putting up <a rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/r/russeda01.html#advanced::27&quot;>career-best marks</a> across the board in various advanced metrics, including Box Plus/Minus, Player Efficiency Rating and Win Shares/48.</p> <p>If he can maintain this productive (and relatively efficient) level of play, he could be headed to a nice payday this offseason, in what&#39;s going to be his first taste of free agency.</p> <h3 class=&quot;presto-h3&quot;> <span style=&quot;color:#ff0000;&quot;>PASCAL SIAKAM</span>, TORONTO RAPTORS</h3> <p>The long-striding, pogo-stick of a big man <strong>Pascal Siakam</strong> was an important, impactful piece of what was the best bench in the league in 2017-18. And thus far this year, after a promotion to the starting five, he&#39;s been even better.</p> <p>The third-year forward is putting up 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game while sinking 61.9 percent of his field-goal attempts - a truly astounding mark for a player who predominantly spends most of his time on the wing.</p> <p>Siakam&#39;s got a really unique game, with a tight ball-handle, quick spin moves and newly developed pull-up shooting touch to go with his freakish length and athleticism. And it&#39;s thanks to all of those distinctive traits that Siakam is able to do a bit of everything on the floor. As proof, we can point to the fact that Synergy rates him as &quot;excellent&quot; in four completely distinct play-types: transition scoring, isolation scoring, posting up and as the pick-and-roll <em>ball-handler</em>. In addition, his swing rating (a ridiculous <a rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/siakapa01/on-off/2019&quot;>+16.6</a>) is one of the top marks in the NBA among rotational players.</p> <p>Siakam is still two years away from hitting free agency, but if he continues on this trajectory, he&#39;s going to get absolutely paid once he does hit the open market.</p> <h3 class=&quot;presto-h3&quot;> <span style=&quot;color:#ff0000;&quot;>E&#39;TWAUN MOORE</span>, NEW ORLEANS PELICANS</h3> <p>It&#39;s not exactly typical that a role player in his eighth year posts a career campaign, but that&#39;s exactly what New Orleans Pelicans wing <strong>E&#39;Twaun Moore</strong> is doing thus far this season.</p> <p>The veteran 2-guard is putting up career-highs across the board, including points (16.9), three-pointers (1.8) and three-point percentage (48.5).</p> <p>Among players with at least 60 three-point attempts this year, Moore ranks fourth in accuracy. And when shooting off-screens, Moore&#39;s 1.37 PPP is the second-best mark in the NBA among qualified players.</p> <p>With stars like Davis and Holiday taking most of the attention from opposing defenses, Moore has done an outstanding job in complementing the team&#39;s best players by knocking down shots at an elite rate off the ball.</p> <p>The Pelicans are going to be in the thick of a heated playoff race out West all season, and the difference between making it or going on vacation early will come down to role players like Moore making a legit nightly impact, just like he has been to this point in the year.</p> <p> <em>You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: <a rel=&quot;noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;http://twitter.com/frankurbina_&quot;>@FrankUrbina_</a>.</em> </p> <p><strong>MORE:</strong></p> <p><a href=&quot;https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/nfl-aaron-rodgers-jordan-rodgers-family-fued-california-wildfires/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related&quot;>Jordan Rodgers slams brother Aaron over response to California wildfires</a></p> <p><a href=&quot;https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/nfl-picks-against-the-spread-week-12-betting-odds-spreads-predictions/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related&quot;>NFL picks against the spread, Week 12: Can the Vikings bounce back against the Packers?</a></p> <p><a href=&quot;https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/what-time-do-the-nfl-thanksgiving-day-games-start/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related&quot;>What time do the NFL&#39;s Thanksgiving day games start?</a></p> <p><a href=&quot;https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/jordan-rodgers-twitter-aaron-rodgers-reactions/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related&quot;>Twitter reacts to Jordan Rodgers blasting Aaron Rodgers</a></p> <p><a href=&quot;https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/the-challenge-final-reckoning-ashley-mitchell-million-dollars-hunter-interview/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related&quot;>Ashley from MTV&#39;s &#39;The Challenge&#39; talks about the show&#39;s shocking finale</a></p></body></html>